Men from AidData (from left):
Robert Hicks, associate professor of economics; Michael Tierney, co-director, Institute for the Theory and Practice of International Relations; Bradley Parks, project director and research associate, ITPIR.

William & Mary has received a $1 million grant from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for AidData.

“Gifts like Hewlett’s help fuel the research university that thrives inside William & Mary. AidData is a splendid example of our commitment to engaged learning that makes a difference in the world,” said William & Mary President Taylor Reveley.

The Hewlett grant will help fund Phase II of the AidData collaboration, a five-year growth campaign. Over the coming years, AidData researchers hope to build out the AidData portal by expanding the database to include previously unpublished data from both traditional and new donors, adding project documents and geo-location codes to aid projects and continuing cutting-edge research on aid allocation and aid effectiveness.

AidData’s web portal serves as an easily accessible and independent repository of aid activities. Researchers hope to increase the effectiveness and transparency of foreign aid programs by providing easy access to aid information through this shared online source.

“We have been extremely fortunate that the Hewlett Foundation has seen fit to support this project so generously,” said Michael Tierney, co-director of William & Mary’s Institute for Theory and Practice of International Relations. “This grant will not only help to make development finance more transparent and effective, it will also enable internationally oriented student-faculty research on a range of policy-relevant issues.”

Since 2006, AidData has received a total of $4.65 million from two private foundations—Hewlett ($1.75 million) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ($2.9 million)—as well as $250,000 from the National Science Foundation.

AidData is coordinated by the Institute for the Theory and Practice of International Relations (ITPIR), in collaboration with Brigham Young University and Development Gateway.